Justice for Mexico Short Story

“All rise for the honorable Judge John Earthican,” says the bailiff.

“We’re a shoo-in for this case, I’ve got all the facts right here,” Attorney Canada Woods whispers to his client while tapping on his briefcase.

America Smith, his client and the main suspect of the murder of Mexico Hernandez nods his head.

“District Attorney, for the jury, please state what happened on the night of the incident,” Judge Earthican states.

“On the night in question, Mexico Hernandez was coming home from his day job before someone had broken in. He then found the intruder going through his drawers and he called the police. The intruder supposedly didn’t want to go to jail, so he took out his gun and shot Hernandez. He then ran off. Which I believe is idiotic, since the police would have found him anyway,” the DA explains.

“That’s enough District Attorney. Please sit down,” Judge Earthican says. “Now, the defendants state their case,” Judge Earthican orders.

“Yes, your honor. As the record shows, my client, Mr. America Smith was robbing the house of Mr. Hernandez that night. Where is the proof? Where’s the photographic evidence? How do we know he was even there? With that being stated, there is no evidence, to my knowledge to incarcerate Mr. Smith. That is all,” Attorney Woods states.

“District Attorney, state your case,” Judge Earthican says.

“Mr. Woods, you say, Mr. Smith wasn’t at Hernandez’s house that night. That leads me to my only witness, Ms. Leona Swiss.” the DA states.

She walks up to the witness chair and the District Attorney says, “Ms. Swiss, please state your side of the story.”

“Well, I came home from shopping at the mall and I saw a dark figure break into Mr. Hernandez’s house. I looked for my phone in my purse, but it was too dark. And by the time I found it, Mr. Hernandez had come home. I didn’t want to get involved, so I rushed inside. I heard a gunshot and then called the police,” Ms. Swiss remembers.

“A rebuttal, Mr. Woods,” Judge Earthican orders.

“Yes, Ms. Swiss, you say you saw a dark figure try to break into Mr. Hernandez’s home. How did

you know it was Mr. Smith?” Canada Woods asks Ms. Swiss.

“I — didn’t, but I heard the gunshot,” Ms. Swiss states.

“I see and why didn’t you call the police before ‘the dark figure’ entered his home?” Canada Woods asked.

“It was too late, I couldn’t find my phone in time.” Ms. Smiss adjusts her glasses.

“No further questions, your honor,” Canada Woods announces. “I have no other witnesses.”

“District Attorney, your witness?” Judge Earthican states.

“I only have one witness — -Mr. Smith.” The DA points at the culprit.

The gallery (spectators in the audience) gasps.

“This is completely unconventional. Mr. Smith is a suspect, not a witness,” Judge Earthican corrects.

“But he did witness it. I call America Smith to the stand!” the DA shouts.

The gallery murmurs.

“Order, order in the court. I’ll allow it, this time,” Judge Earthican says after banging his gavel.

Mr. Smith walks up to the witness chair.

“Now, Mr. Smith, if you weren’t at Mr. Hernandez’s house that night, then where were you?” the DA asks.

“I — -was at a party downtown that night,” Mr. Smith nervously replies.

“And for the jury, what was the address of that party?” the DA asks.

Mr. Smith looks at his attorney and he mouths the address to him. “12 — Maple — Street, Waycove,” Mr. Smith repeats.

“And the people at that party can vouch for you that you were there?” the DA asks.

“Yes,” Mr. Smith responds.

“Okay, what were you doing at precisely nine o’ three at that party?” The DA points at his watch.

Mr. Smith looks back at his attorney and says, “Well, I was on my second cup of beer and I had just checked my watch. It said 9:03 pm,” Mr. Smith recollects.

“No further questions, your honor.” The DA pulls out an easel and sets it up.”

The judge states, “You may continue with your evidence, District Attorney.”

“I’ve been working with the local police and this is what they’ve found so far. Exhibit A, wet footprints were discovered on the carpet of the living room, which were from the wet grass on the lawn. The sprinklers must have been on recently or it had rained, either way, the suspect walked in with these,” the DA suspects.

“Objection, your honor, those footprints could have been Mr. Hernandez’s boots,” Attorney Woods stands up from his chair and shouts.

“Overruled, District Attorney, please continue,” Judge Earthican gavels.

“As I was saying, the police only found one set of footprints, Mr. Smith’s. They suspected that Mr. Hernandez walked on the driveway and onto the path to his house, while Mr. Smith walked through the grass. It’s almost like he wanted to get caught, but why would he, if he killed Mr. Hernandez?” the DA puts the facts together.

The court gasps.

“Order, Order in the court. Attorney Woods, do you have a rebuttal?” Judge Earthican asks.

“Yes, even if my client did kill the victim, he did it out of self-defense because the victim had a gun. He took the gun from Hernandez’s hands,” Woods speculated.

“Where’s the evidence for this speculation?” the DA asks.

“I will get some,” Woods says.

“The court is on recess until further notice,” the Judge adjourns.

A few weeks later, more evidence was gathered by the police, the DA, and Attorney Woods.

“It’s there any new evidence to disclose, District Attorney or Attorney Woods?” the Judge asks.

The DA stands up from his chair and says, “Yes, your honor.”

“Proceed,” the Judge states.

“The police got a warrant from the city and searched Mr. Smith’s apartment. They found the murder weapon,” the DA declared.

Sweat drips from America Smith’s forehead as he looks left and right. A few police officers walk into the courtroom, one of them has a briefcase. They hand the briefcase to the DA and he opens it. He pulls out a clear baggie marked evidence and carefully holds the top of the weapon to not smudge the fingerprints.

“This is the gun that shot Mexico Hernandez. The police found Hernandez and Smith’s fingerprints on the weapon. The police have a suspicion that Hernandez had the gun first, then Smith took it, and they fought over it until it was accidentally shot. I believe the first part is right, Hernandez had the gun first, but Smith took the gun and shot Hernandez, in fear that he’d kill him first or he’d call the cops,” the DA conspired.

“That’s a huge accusation, District Attorney,” the Judge replies.

Attorney Woods fumbles with his papers and stands up, “Your honor, if both the victim and the accused had their hands on the gun, how do we know who shot who? What if Hernandez shot himself?”

“Do you have any other evidence, District Attorney?” the Judge questions.

“Yes, the police also suspect the accused wore gloves during the robbery, but for some reason, he took them off when he ‘accidentally’ shot the victim. Why would he take them off, to get a better grip on the gun?” the DA says rhetorically.

“Since there is no other evidence, I will let the jury decide if the accused, America Smith is guilty or innocent,” Judge Earthican says.

A few hours later, the jury of eight made their decision.

“The jury finds the suspect, America Smith — -guilty,” the head juror claims.

The police cuff America Smith and pull him out of the courtroom.